Gift from the Underworld
by RiceForEveryone
Summary: Nico di Angelo adopts a young demigod. - future-fic, connected one-shots -


A/N: House of Hades killed my soul and threw it into Tarturus. Nico and Leo, AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH, MY BABIES. Uncle Rick, I don't know whether you love us or hate us… On a side note, yaoi isn't really my cup of tea, but I greatly admire what Nico did there! Honestly, I love him even more. I really do hope he finds happiness, because he deserves it!

Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus. All rights go to Disney, Rick Riordan, and whoever else. I also don't own Sugarpova, which belongs to Fini Candy Co.

Gift from the Underworld

1st Connection: Saving Myself

~/~

"It's a fainted girl," Nico stated bluntly.

"Anyone who has eyes can see that!" the small ten year old at his side said. "I'm talking about the way she's dressed. It's identical to your style!" Nico raised a single brow, not at the way the dark haired girl in the infirmary bed was dressed, but at how his small niece kept using big words. Wouldn't a ten year old use "same" instead of identical?

It was a warm, sunny day, and Nico had planned to spend it by sleeping in. He didn't plan for his niece to come banging on his door at eight a.m. to drag him through Modern Greece* and Camp Half-Blood to the Big House infirmary. So here he was, only in a plain black t- shirt and sweat pants, standing with the small girl in the infirmary and watching some other demigod sleep.

He turned to look at his niece who just stared back with her dark green eyes, waiting for a response. She pulled on her sandy-blonde ponytail, a habit that Nico recognized as her sign of I'm-kind-of-nervous-and/or-confused. "You called me out here just to show me a fainted girl that likes to wear dark colors?" he asked again.

"No, Uncle Nico!" she yelled at him. "I'm saying that she might be a child of Hades, too! Don't you think that-"

"No, Rain," he quickly interrupted. It had taken him many years to recover from his own trauma. The memories of Bianca's death, being trapped in the jar, the fight with Cupid, and the final fight against Gaea still wouldn't fade. He couldn't imagine having another kid be forced to bear all that. All that pain, anger, and loneliness was too much. He glanced at the girl in the infirmary bed again. She was on the thin side, and her skin was light, maybe even pale. Her black hair was long and straight. Like Rain had said earlier, she had a black shirt. The mysterious girl was curled into her blankets, as if cold and frightened. Nico couldn't imagine this girl surviving all the troubles he had gone through. "The Big Three aren't allowed to have children with mortals."

She crossed her arms and said, "Everyone breaks rules."

"That doesn't sound convincing coming from the girl who gets the award for 'Best Conduct' every year in a row," he said with a dry smile.

His niece smiled back and nudged him with her shoulder. "I could be a rule breaker if I wanted to."

"Yeah, of course," Nico replied without feeling. This girl really was Annabeth's daughter.

"I could! And what about my daddy or Uncle Jason, then? How about you?" she asked. "Isn't Hades your daddy? And Poseidon and Zeu- I mean Jupiter are my daddy's and Uncle Jason's daddies."

"Stop with the 'daddy' thing," Nico responded. He had never called Hades "daddy", and he doubted Percy or Jason had done so either. The word was gross. It was like a bitter jaw-breaker being shoved into his mouth. "Your dad and Uncle Jason are special," he answered. "That's why they're sons of Poseidon and Jupiter."

"You're special, too, then, Uncle Nico," Rain decided. He looked down at her and she smiled back. A sad smile made its way onto Nico's face. He wanted to say, No, I'm not even one bit special. He decided that it was better to not say something like that to Rain, especially at such a pure age of ten.

With this in mind, Nico forced the words out of his mouth as he tried to hide his insecurities away from his wise niece. "Yeah, I guess I'm special, too."

~/~

It was nine o'clock, and Nico had no idea why he was there at the campfire. The air was chilly, and the flames of the bonfire licked at the stars of the sky. Jason and Piper had urged him to go. It'll be fun, they said. It's nice to watch the demigods getting claimed, they said. Now Nico was leaning against the tree at the edge of the forest, listening to the Apollo cabin's camp songs while Jason and Piper were off talking to Chiron about who knows what.

As symbols began appearing above the new demigods' heads, Nico wondered how many of them would be alive a few years from now. The Hephaestus cabin cheered when a flaming hammer appeared over a young boy's head. About three children poofed into beautiful clothes and perfect hair. Flowers bloomed around Demeter's newly claimed children. No glowing tridents, lightning bolts, or dark skulls appeared, and Nico was content just knowing that. He pushed off the tree he had been leaning against and was about to leave when he saw the girl from the infirmary.

She had her knees folded towards her and her arms folded on top. Her head lay in her arms as she listened to the girl Nico saw speaking to her. In the fire light, her eyes looked like liquid gold. Her hair was long, and reached the small of her back. Her black long sleeves had some kind of white design on them, and he saw that she was wearing denim shorts and red high top converse. She lifted her head up to respond to her friend but returned to her original position once speaking.

Her friend had been claimed by Hermes, but Nico couldn't remember if the mysterious girl had been claimed. She looked bored as she talked to her friend, but responded every now and then. She was constantly glancing around, as if trying to get a feel for the place.

She responded to her friend once more and looked around before their eyes met. The intensity of her gold gaze made Nico uncomfortable. They stared at each other for a while, and he felt as if she was trying to decide what kind of person he was. He decided that she didn't need to know, and turned around and melted into the shadows of the forest.

~/~

The son of Hades woke with a start, and realized that someone was banging on his door. He cursed to himself and pulled his blanket over his head. Rain had already taken up his morning and Jason and Piper had wasted his evening. Did his night have to be ruined, too? Nico waited for the banging to stop, but the loud sound continued. Eventually, he got sick of the sound and stomped his way to the living room. He threw open the door and hissed, "What do you want?" He instantly regretted it when he saw Rain's little brother, Andrew, at the door. His nephew flinched at Nico's harsh tone, looking up at him with fear. Nico just sighed and asked a tiny bit more gently (not really) as he leaned against the door post, "Andrew, what are you doing here? It's too late for you to be out." The small boy had dark brown hair and glasses. He was wearing a faded t-shirt and basketball shorts. He was wearing his sneakers without socks. Nico could tell he snuck out.

"R-Rain! She's in trouble!" he said. Nico was fully awake now.

"What?" he asked dumbly. "Why? What the heck are you guys even doing out this late? Did you tell your parents about this?"

"No…" he said slowly. "But that doesn't matter right now! Come on, let's go! You need to help her, Uncle Nico!" The small boy grabbed Nico's wrist and began to drag him through the streets of Modern Greece. The two ran through the city, Andrew sprinting as fast as he could. Nico remembered that he'd been like this with Bianca sometimes, but quickly stopped the thought. He wouldn't compare Andrew and Rain to himself and Bianca.

Soon the two made it to Half Blood Hill and Nico's eyes widened at the sight of a fight. He identified one figure as Rain, and instantly grew worried. Rain was more of a thinker than a fighter. She used her words and brain to win battles before they could even begin. When it came to combat, his niece could only fight at a level that was a bit below average. "You left your sister in the middle of a fight!?" Nico asked Andrew. Her younger brother was much better at fighting then she was.

"She insisted that I get you! I didn't want to leave, but she told me to!" his nephew panted. Nico rushed forward as Rain's opponent got in close for a punch. Rain had the advantage of having a weapon, a wooden staff from the training arena. Nico's pony-tailed niece blocked with the staff and made a swinging motion at her opponent's side. Her opponent was quick and jumped back as she dodged.

"Uncle Nico!" Rain called as she looked over her shoulder.

That second was the only opening her opponent needed. Nico watched in fear as she rushed forward and delivered a harsh kick to Rain's stomach. The sandy blond fell over, clutching her stomach in pain. Andrew yelled out his sister's name and dashed over to her, and the mysterious figure ran away after stealing Rain's wooden staff. "Andrew, take care of Rain!" Nico ordered as he dashed after the figure.

The older demigod easily caught up to the figure and soon had him in sight. "Give it up, demigod!" he called out. The person skidded to a stop and got into a fighting stance, and he realized that it was the mysterious, gold-eyed girl from the infirmary. One of her hands was wrapped in white bandages. "You… What the heck are you doing!? Curfew ended hours ago!"

"I don't plan on staying," the girl answered. Now that he had a closer look, she seemed about the same age as Rain. Her eyes were cold, distant, and angry. He instantly remembered the time after Bianca's death. He had seen the same emotions in his own dark eyes whenever he had looked into a mirror. "I never planned on staying. There's somewhere I need to be. Just let me leave without a fight." The blind determination was something he was familiar with, too.

"Look," Nico said, trying to be consoling, "Camp Half-Blood is the best place for you right now. You'll never survive out there on your own. I know this from personal experience. Don't try to go out there by yourself." The night was cool and his words hung in the crisp air. His warning didn't even seem to register in the girl's head.

Her expression darkened as she yelled at him, "I'm not you! Don't think that my story will be the same as yours! I don't need anyone! I can make it out there by myself!" He could feel the hate and anger rolling off of her, and it was definitely strong. There was something in this girl's past that was like a trigger, and Nico knew he'd accidently pulled it.

"I'm telling this so that you don't make the same mistakes as I do, kid," he said. He began walking towards her cautiously. She just glared at him, and he didn't want to believe she wouldn't fight back but he couldn't help it.

"You'll never understand me."

"Everyone's said that at least once in their life," Nico said. He was almost in reach of her. He could feel the dark aura she gave off. It reminded him of his own, and he prayed to his father that the darkness had thickened due to him and not the golden-eyed girl. He felt sorry for her. Nico was right in front of her now. She remained motionless, and he thought she had given up.

Suddenly, she lashed out with the wooden staff and aimed for his head, but he blocked with his arm. The swing was weak, but it still hurt, and Nico smiled at the girl menacingly. "What do you think you're doing?" He saw a flicker of fear in her eyes before her determined look came back.

"Just leave me alone!" she yelled. She swung again, and this time Nico easily dodged. She continued to swing, and he dodged all of them. He could see that she was getting frustrated and was about to point that out when she threw the staff at him.

The staff swung into his collar bone, and stunned him for a bit. He was getting irritated now, and when he looked up, some kind of powder was flung into his eyes, followed by a small splash of water. He tried to wipe out with the palm of his hand, but his hand came away sticky. He growled as he licked his lip and it tasted sweet. Was this sugar? He tried opening his eyes, but the sugar made it difficult and his vision blurry.

"That's enough!" he yelled into the night! The ground shook and split open as he unconsciously summoned the dead. "I've had enough of your games!" He heard the girl scream and try to run, but the sound of bones rustling told him she was trapped. He walked forward as she continued to kick and scream, and he did his best to wipe the sticky substance out of his eyes. "You chose the wrong demigod to mess with," he threatened.

"Leave me alone!" she screamed. To his surprise, the dead seemed to hesitate at her words. They turned to Nico in confusion, wondering who the real enemy was. "Let me go!" she screamed, tears gathering at her eyes. The dead were about to free her when Nico intervened.

"Hold her down! Don't let her go!" The dead tightened their grip on the girl as she began to cry. He stomped over to where she struggled, the dead warriors holding her feet down. When he loomed over her, she looked up in panic and fear. She struggled, more weakly now, as she watched him. Her tears glittered in the moonlight, and Nico felt bad for her still. With a wave of his hand, the dead crawled back into the crevices of the Earth and the gaps sealed themselves. The girl didn't struggle anymore, but just wailed. She sat on the floor, wiping at her eyes and trying to suppress her cries. Nico watched awkwardly, before kneeling down to her height. He pulled her wrists away from her and she looked at him through watery eyes. "Stop crying," he said gently. Her eyes were a mirror of his fourteen year old self. They were sad, angry, and lonely. He saw a black smoke appear over her head, and looked up to see a small skull take shape. He hugged the girl to himself as he thought about how much sadness his father put his children through. It wasn't enough for Bianca, Hazel and him to suffer, so he had thrown in this poor, ten year old girl.

"Let's go back?" he asked gently.

The girl's crying had subsided to hiccupping, and he almost missed it when she whispered, "Okay."

~/~

"She can't stay in the Hades cabin!" Percy argued. "She attacked my daughter and tried to leave Camp Half-Blood without permission. She would bolt at any moment."

"Then where are we going to put her?" Jason asked. "We can't do anything else now that Hades has claimed her. Percy, we have no other choice."

Nico sat and listened to his two friends argue. Once again, it was too early for him to be up, but here he was. After taking the new child of Hades to the Big House, she'd given him a bag of Sugarpova Sporty Mix chewing gum without meeting his eyes or saying anything. After that, he'd taken Rain and Andrew home, where Percy and Annabeth commenced to freak out. Percy had called him and Jason in to discuss what to do with the girl. Nico thought that this was all pointless, and that maybe all meetings around the world should only be allowed to be held after three p.m. He opened the white bag of Sugarpova that he had brought along and popped one of the chewy balls into his mouth. It was way too sweet. Nico wondered why that girl even liked this. Except for our tastes in food, he thought, we're pretty similar. He froze at the thought. Was he actually relating with someone?

He was brought out of his thoughts when Percy said, "I just don't want her causing trouble, Jason. If someone were watching her, then yeah, let her be in the Hades cabin!"

Jason was about to argue back when Nico said, "Why don't I just take her in?"

Percy and Jason were shocked into silence, and even Nico was a bit surprised by his own words. He then steeled himself. I said it, so I'll go with it, he thought. Jason was the first to speak. "Wait, like, have her live with you?"

"Yeah, like an adoption," Nico responded. "You guys have kids, and if you can take care of them then so can I."

"Was that an insult?" Percy whispered to the son of Jupiter.

Jason ignored Percy's question and said, "Wait a minute, Nico, I don't know if you can handle something like an adoption." Nico's eyes glinted dangerously at the challenge, and Jason hurriedly added, "It's just that we barely know anything about her. Do you even know her name?"

He looked down at the package of Sugarpova, and saw in small letters "Fini Candy Company, Europe". This was enough, he told himself. Jason was right, he didn't know anything. All he knew about the girl was that she was an angry soul like him, had an addiction to a disgustingly sweet candy, and was a child of Hades. This was enough.

"I call her Fini, and she's a child of Hades. That's more than enough reason for me to take her in."

~/~

*Modern Greece – a city very similar to New Rome. It was created and connected to Camp Half-Blood after the war with Gaea

A/N: This was so fun to write. I really don't know if Nico will find a boyfriend or girlfriend, I really hope he does, but for my fanfic, he'll be single. Honestly, I just wanted a story where someone is adopted and the relation is totally family-based. All the manga I've seen have it become romance. Also, I hate coming up with OCs. Sorry if you pictured their children differently. And yes, the Sugarpova will have significance in the story. Anyway, thanks for reading! Leave me a review, yeah? :)

This will be a series of connected one-shots and stories from Nico's and Fini's life.


End file.
